In vitro propagation of female Ephedra foliata Boiss. & Kotschy ex Boiss.: an endemic and threatened Gymnosperm of the Thar Desert

Abstract

Ephedra foliata Boiss. & Kotschy ex Boiss., (family - Ephedraceae), is an ecologically and economically important threatened Gymnosperm of the Indian Thar Desert. A method for micropropagation of E. foliata using nodal explant of mature female plant has been developed. Maximum bud-break (90 %) of the explant was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg l(-1) of benzyl adenine (BA) + additives. Explant produces 5.3 ± 0.40 shoots from single node with 3.25 ± 0.29 cm length. The multiplication of shoots in culture was affected by salt composition of media, types and concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGR's) and their interactions, time of transfer of the cultures. Maximum number of shoots (26.3 ± 0.82 per culture vessel) were regenerated on MS medium modified by reducing the concentration of nitrates to half supplemented with 200 mg l(-1) ammonium sulphate {(NH4) 2SO4} (MMS3) + BA (0.25 mg l(-1)), Kinetin (Kin; 0.25 mg l(-1)), Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA; 0.1 mg l(-1)) and additives. The in vitro produced shoots rooted under ex vitro on soilrite moistened with one-fourth strength of MS macro salts in screw cap bottles by treating the shoot base (s) with 500 mg l(-1) of Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for 5 min. The micropropagated plants were hardened in the green house. The described protocol can be applicable for (i) large scale plant production (ii) establishment of plants in natural habitat and (iii) germplasm conservation of this endemic Gymnosperm of arid regions.

An Improved Micropropagation Protocol byEx VitroRooting ofPassiflora edulisSims. f.flavicarpaDeg. through Nodal Segment Culture

“…The highest percentage of shoots (73%) was rooted on NAA with less number of roots (5.8). Our result signifies that half strength of MS salts in medium is appropriate for in vitro rooting and is in line with the research work published by many authors [ 33 – 35 ]. Ragavendran et al [ 16 ] also rooted in vitro raised shoots by use of IBA in case of P. foetida .…”

A high-frequency in vitro multiplication, micromorphological studies and ex vitro rooting of Cadaba fruticosa (L.) Druce (Bahuguni): a multipurpose endangered medicinal shrub

“…Incorporation of auxin at a lower concentration (NAA 0.1 mg l −1 ) with cytokinins in subculturing medium showed synergetic effects on shoot multiplication, as a number of shoot buds were generated at the base of shoot clump. The probable attribute for this synergism is cross-talk mechanism of auxin and cytokinins which induce new bud primordia, subsequent bud formation and shoot regeneration in cultures (Lodha et al 2014b; Zhang Once PGRs were optimized, cultures were transferred to MS modified media (MMS 1 to MMS 3 ) to study the effect of different salts concentration on further shoot multiplication. In the present study, MMS 3 medium was found better than MS medium for shoot multiplication/ growth (Fig.…”

“…Rooting under ex vitro conditions is an attractive technique because it does not need any additional acclimatization prior to the field transfer (Pospóšilová et al 1999;Osório et al 2013;Lodha et al 2014b). It also requires lesser time and resources; and it is estimated that ex vitro rooting can lower the cost of a micropropagation protocol up to 70-75 % (Lodha et al 2014a;Patel et al 2014).…”

In Vitro Shoot and Callus Induction and Alkaloid Contents of Ephedra intermedia (Schrenket) of Iran

“…Maximum bud (90 %) fromin vitro culture of nodal explants of E. foliata has obtained on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg l -1 of benzyl adenine (BA). Explant produced 5.3 shoots from single node with 3.25 cm length [48].The tissue cultures of Ephedra foliata has doneon MS medium containing 0.5 mg l−1 each of 2, 4-D and Kn. Maintained callus cultures exhibited regeneration potential and maximum number of shoots with an average height has achieved on MS medium containing combination of 0.25 mg l −1 each of Kn, BA and 0.1 mg l −1 of NAA.…”